If You Only Knew
by SheepTASTIC
Summary: Chelsea knew something, or someone, was sneaking into her house at night.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Alright, so, seeing's how it's almost summer vacation now, I'm going to try and juggle two fanfics. I'm might be able to make it work.

I decided that there were not enough about Shea, who is awesome. So, here you go.

Reviews make me a happy writer. PLZ.

**Disclaimer:** I, unfortunately, don't own Harvest Moon or any affiliated characters. This is the only time I'm going to say this, so it applies to the whole fanfic. Let it be known.

Chapter 1

Chelsea wasn't really a heavy sleeper. So, when her front door clicked open, her eyes shot right open.

Groggily, she rolled over to face the door. Oddly enough, it appeared to be closed. It may have been open, it was hard to tell. There was a new moon that night, so there was no light to be had whatsoever. No stars, either. No, it must have been closed. It was impossibly dark.

Chelsea groaned at having been woken up. "Crap, now I have to pee". She sat up, and was about to stand when she noticed a glint of light next to the door. Interested, she turned her head, and saw a pair of large, glowing eyes staring straight at her. It was too dark to see the head they were presumably attached to, or the body attached to said head. "Oh, I must be dreaming," she whispered. "Well, I _think _I have to pee, so might as well wake up". Chelsea pinched herself, but it had no effect, other than a bit of pain. She pinched herself a few more times, but the pain was too sharp for it to be a dream. Her eyes widened, and she dove under her covers. She looked over at the door, but the eyes were still there, unblinking and angry-looking.

Shivering, Chelsea closed her eyes, and tried to will the eyes away. _Please don't be real, please don't be real.. _Suddenly, there was another click, which she took as the front door closing as the eyes left. She breathed a sigh of relief, and got up to pee. She was too afraid of what she might've found if she turned the lights on, so she took care off business in the pitch black. Chelsea then carefully inched back to her bed, crawled under the thin covers, and sang herself to sleep, as she did every night.

_Nothing happened. You're just tired, and your mind was playing tricks on you._

_Right?_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **I feel really bad for the lateness. I had this chapter done for weeks, just.. Forgot to upload it. Sorry! But I'm going on vacation in a few days (8 hour drive, yay), so I'll write in the car. Promise.

Chapter 2

Chelsea woke up the next morning, tired and bewildered._ What a strange dream... My beauty sleep was interrupted. What a great way to start the day. But, the day's started, so I should make the best of it!_

She rolled out of bed and walked over to the bathroom. _Ugh, I look like hell.. Nothing a shower won't fix!!_

After taking a shower, getting dressed, and brushing her teeth, Chelsea was read_y _to go. She walked over to the door, and was met with a cluster of muddy human footprints. _Huh? There _was _someone in my house last night. I should tell someone.._

Chelsea hurtled out the door, and nearly tripped over her dog, Nathaniel. Not Nate, Nathaniel. "Omigosh, I'm sorry baby!! I didn't see you!!" Nathaniel whimpered at her, then barked and ran over to the chicken coop. "Oh, yeah.. I should probably feed my chickens before I go. You're right, Nathaniel. But I should hurry."

She ran over to the small shed, threw some seed in, and slammed the door before any of the chickens could attack her. She was almost to late, and she heard an angry squawk and the flutter of feathers. "Whew, that was close. I'm telling ya, those chickens are out to get me.." Nathaniel rolled his eyes, and trotted away. "Right.. I'm talking to a dog. Well, off to Elliott's!!"

Chelsea sprinted down the path, slowed, and strolled calmly through Elliott's front door. They were expecting her, and had a blueberry muffin sitting out on the table, waiting just for her. "Hello, Chelsea dear. I figured you'd be hungry, so I baked some muffins," said Felicia cheerily.

"Good morning, Felicia. Thanks!! You remembered that they're my favorite," Chelsea said, and stuffed half the muffin in her mouth. Just then, Elliott and Natalie walked in, arguing about something or other.

"You did, too!!"

"No I didn't!!"

"Yuh-huh!!"

"Nuh-uh!!"

"Yu-"

"Children, please!!" cried Felicia. "Can't you two be civil? We have company."

"Sorry, mother," the two 'children' chorused. "Wow," said Natalie. "You look like a chipmunk."

Chelsea quickly swallowed the muffin half, and sheepishly smiled.

Elliott glared at his sister, and told Chelsea, "Don't worry, you didn't look like a chipmunk, just... Hungry." He smiled at his own little joke, then turned towards his sister. When he didn't think Chelsea was looking, he stole quick glances at her.

Chelsea, quite used to Elliott and Natalie's bickering, and his cheesy jokes, told the trio, "Someone was in my house last night. I thought it was just dream, but this morning I found footprints by my door."

"Well," Felicia said, "We don't really have a police force here on the island. You should just be sure to lock your door tonight. Are you sure nothing was taken?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure," Chelsea replied. "Well, thanks for your help. I should go water the crops before it gets too hot. Good-bye."

"Good-bye, Chelsea. Stop by later if you have the time," Felicia said, then started washing the dishes. "Isn't she sweet?" she asked siblings.

"Yeah," Elliot replied absent-mindedly, watching the door swing shut.

Chelsea wandered back to her farm, and glared angrily at the mass of weeds that had accumulated overnight. "You're like the plague, you know what? I just weeded you little nightmares yesterday. Then, POOF! Twice as many. It's impossible." She walked sullenly over to the field, and half-heartedly pulled at a small patch of the weeds. She cleared a good-sized patch, then gave up, and went to water her crops. "N'yaright, that's enough for now, I suppose. Hmm.. What to do now.."

Just then, Chelsea heard rustling leaves in the trees. There was no breeze, but she shrugged it off as an animal of some sort. However, the rustling drew closer when she turned away. "Uh.. Right." She turned on her heel and walked hurriedly into to her house, slamming the door. "I'll just read for a while. That'll be nice."

She buried herself in her armchair, and read a large, dusty book quietly. There was the soft pattering of feet at her door for a few minutes, but it didn't seem to be trying to get in. She tried not to look up, and just blocked it out, for the most part.

When the pattering went away, Chelsea walked over to the window next to the door, and peered outside. Nothing was broken or missing, as far as she could tell. _Good. _

Chelsea carefully opened her door, and found a few stray flowers tied together with some ridiculously long grass on the doorstep. She stooped down to retrieve them, and brought them up to her face. "Well, they're pretty, and they smell nice. But it's still weird." She turned to go back inside her house, and closed the door quietly.

Not far away, just behind the tree line, a tall figure with cat-like eyes crouched in the mud. When he saw the girl pick up the flowers he left on her doorstep, he smiled.

But not in a creepy way.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **As promised, here's the next chapter. But first, I want to thank my loverly reviewers, **Jean Cooper**, **Aurora Auri**, and **Rocking Out**. I love you a lot! Reviews make me happy. And a happy me writes chapters faster. ~winkwink nudgenudge~

By the end of this chapter, you will notice that there's a fair amount of ChelseaxElliott, and Shea is starting to get rather violent. Obviously, for my desired end to this story, these need to be fixed. I have no idea how. Suggestions on what you'd want to happen would be greatly appreciated.

Anyways, on with the show!

Chapter 2

Over the course of the next week, Chelsea continued to find messy bouquets of flowers placed randomly around her house overnight. The first two were sweet, placed next to her pillow and on the side table, but the third was in the bathroom, which sufficiently creeped her out. With nothing else to do with them, Chelsea retied the flowers tighter and neater, and presented them to Elliott when she visited his family each morning. Each time, he merely blushed and stammered, with no discernible words coming out.

On the seventh day, Chelsea woke up to see her floor strewn with flowers and interestingly shaped leaves. The cheap wood flooring wasn't visible, except near doors. _Now, this is getting ridiculous. _She stood up, and kicked the flowers between her bed, the bathroom, and the front door into a pile. She picked up the largest, prettiest ones, and a few reddish purple leaves, and stuffed them into her vase. Forgetting about her farm work, she spent the next hour collecting the flowers and transporting arm loads into her shipping bin. _At least I can get some money out of this.._

When only a few scattered leaves and flowers were left, Chelsea stopped to wipe her brow, and collected them into a small bundle, tying them with the twine she had used for the tomato plants. She put it on the kitchen counter, hastily pulled on her clothes, and ran out to comfort her cow, ChouChou. The poor thing merely glared out her as Chelsea brushed her and gave her fodder. "I'm sorry, Chou. I woke up this morning, and my house was covered with flowers! I had to clean them up before they turned all brown and floppy and hard to clean up." The cow blinked and turned away, giving Chelsea the cold shoulder.

Chelsea playfully pushed the side of ChouChou's head, then left the barn to stare skeptically at the chicken shed. All was quiet. Too quiet. She carefully cracked open the squeaky door, and peered in. Five pairs of glinting eyes stared at her, poised to attack. The largest, Dani, slowly got up off her nest and walked forward. She suddenly squawked loudly to the others, and Chelsea slammed the door just as all five chickens flew toward the door, feathers flying everywhere. She slid down the door, leaning her head back and breathing deeply.

"Chelsea?" A voice called from the narrow valley connecting her ranch to the town. A familiar redhead tentatively crept forward, holding.. _Praise the Goddess! _... A muffin. Elliott stood awkwardly in front of Chelsea, watching her breathe deeply and smile dazedly. "Um.. When you didn't come this morning, Mom got worried, and.. Asked me to bring you a muffin." He grinned sheepishly and held out the slightly steaming pastry.

Chelsea reached up and snatched the muffin, then patted the patch of dirt next to her. Elliott tentatively sat on the patch and crossed his legs. "So, chickens try to kill you again?"

Chelsea laughed loudly, muffin bits spraying on the ground in front of her. She wiped her mouth on her sleeve and replied, "You know me so well. Yes, the chickens attacked me. But they got a face full of door. They got what they deserved, if you ask me."

"I think you're overreacting. They're just chickens. I doubt that they're pure evil, okay? Just watch." Elliott stood up and pulled Chelsea up and away from the door. He grasped the handle firmly and swung the door completely open. From what she could see, the chickens were just strutting around and pecking at the ground. You know, normal chicken things.

Elliott turned with a smug, triumphant smile on his face, and opened his mouth to speak, when a strange, loud bird call came from the woods on the far side of the ranch. The chicken perked their heads up, then slowly crept in V-formation towards Elliott. The call suddenly ceased, and the chickens flew at the back of his head in a flurry of white feathers. Elliott yelled and fell to the ground clutching his head, scratches forming on his arms. Chelsea ran forward and kicked the chickens back into the shed, them hitting the walls with five very resounding thuds. She slammed the door, then stood over Elliott with her arms crossed,

"Told ya. That funny call was kind of weird, but just helped me prove my point. They're evil."

"Yeah, I guess." Elliott sat up and studied his arms. "That's gonna sting later.. And what'll Natalie say when she finds out I was mauled by chickens.." He looked down at his scratched arms forlornly, glasses sliding down his nose.

Chelsea sat down next to Elliott and pushed his glasses back up his nose with her index finger. "I'm sure it won't be that bad. Just tell her you were throwing rocks at them in a manly way, and they rebelled. Right?"

Elliott chuckled and looked up to stare into her eyes. "Listen, Chelsea.. I, uh.. The real reason I came up here was.. Uh.. I was just wondering.. You know the Fireworks tomorrow night, right?"

"Well, yeah, I guess."

"Um, well.. If you don't have other plans.. I, uh.. Was wondering if, uh.. You would.. Want to go... With me?" Elliot stared back down at his arms, his face a bright, cherry red.

Chelsea stared down at the back of Elliott's head, as that was all that was available for her to see. "Isn't that, like, a romantic festival? You sure you want to go with me?"

Without looking up or saying anything, Elliott furiously shook his head, and his face turned even redder, if it was possible.

Chelsea grinned gave Elliott a big hug from the side, and kissed his cheek. "Well, sure! I'd love to go with you! All you had to do was ask!" Chelsea released him, and went to stand up. "But listen, you need to come and get me, okay? I won't be able to come over in the morning if I want to get my farm work done in time! I gotta go now and get some more lumber for that last bridge I need. Bye, Elliott!" Chelsea ran off through the valley, leaving Elliott behind to blush and smile to himself.

--------------------

Deep in the woods, suspiciously close to where the bird call had originated, a tall, muscular figure was pacing angrily in a small clearing, kicking various bugs and rodents. His plan hadn't worked, and what he had convinced himself weren't tears welled up in his eyes. He was angry and hurt by the physical contact between _his woman_ and the pale one, and he knew who to take it out on.

He ran back to his hut, and nodded curtly to his companion sitting in the corner. He surveyed the room, and located the birds he had caught earlier, destined to be their dinner. "Wada.. Need bird. Not food. But.. Need." His companion, presumably Wada, just nodded. He knew where the man went every night, and knew it was best not to interfere.

"Yes, Shea.. Take bird."

Shea took the bird and his hunting knife back to his bed, and set to work on it by the light of the fire in the middle of the hut.

His plan just.. Needed a little revision, is all.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **It's me again! First chapter actually on time! I'm so proud.. Anyways, I'd like to thank my loverly reviewers, **Trapper Chavez**, **Aurora Aurie**, and **awesomeness777**. I know you ghost readers are out there, I get emails and can't figure out how to turn them off. Moar reviewz plz. I'm trying to get better at writing, and feedback is lovely.

I did have other ideas for this chapter, but after thinking about it, I agree with **Aurora Aurie**. I love Shea too much to make him a psychopath. So, I went with something still threatening, but much less psychotic than a dead bird. I still had to incorporate the bird, though, so it might seem odd.

Chapter 4

Chelsea woke up early the next morning, and for the first time in a long while, seemed happy to do so. She whistled all through her morning ritual. By that time, her cow had forgiven her for her previous lateness, and she was able to successfully feed the chickens through the window. All in all, a wonderful morning.

Unfortunately, Chelsea's lack of concentration led to several unfortunate mishaps with the watering can. First, she accidentally tripped and the whole thing spilled all over her. This, of course, resulted in an astounding level of cursing. Next, once the can was full again, she got all the way over to the fields, and dropped it on her foot. Again, more cursing.

"Oh, this is _sooo _not worth it." Chelsea threw the can into the middle of the field, and left the water to seep out of the can. "Well, now that that's done, what does one wear to a Starry Night Festival? It's really early, but still.." She wandered back over to her house, and noted the lack of flowers from the mysterious stranger. She shrugged it off, and went to look inside her closet. "Well, let's see.. Yellow t-shirts.. Jeans.. Vests.. Bandannas.. Damn." She pushed through all of her oddly similar clothes to the back of the closet, where all of the ridiculously girly clothes she got as presents from her mom and Lanna resided. "Mini skirt.. No.. The smallest dress I've ever seen.. No.. I can't figure out why my mom gave me a wedding dress as soon as I turned 18.. Creepy.. What the crap, a ballerina dress?" And there it was, tight-fitting bodice, poofy tissue-paper skirt and all. Sunshine yellow. Absolutely hideous.

Chelsea gagged and slammed the door shut. "No way. It's _Elliott_, for Goddess's sake. Sabrina has.. Conservative dresses. I'll borrow something from her." She smiled at her brilliant idea, and left her house. She walked down the valley, when she saw the villagers standing in a large group around Elliott's house. Elliott saw her out of the corner of his eye, and turned to face her, a weak smile on his face.

"Um, hi Chelsea.. I, uh.." He looked distinctly sad and disappointed. "I'm very sorry, but I don't think I can accompany you during the Starry Night Festival tonight. Early this morning, someone threw odd little balls made of feathers through all the windows in our house. They're harder than you'd think." He chuckled, then sombered up again. "Anyways, I need to help my family put in the new windows, since we can't afford to pay Gannon to do it for us. I'm really sorry.."

Chelsea nodded and grabbed Elliott's hand. "It's okay. I totally understand. Another time, then." She kissed his cheek, causing him to turn beet red, then turned and went back to her farm. She murmured, "Well, at least I don't have to worry about what to wear. There's always a silver lining! I'll just cook for myself, then."

She sighed softly, and opened the front door to her small house, and then everything went dark.

--------------------

Shea looked down at the fallen girl, a large bump on her head slowly forming. He frowned, slightly guilty at what he had done, but shook it off, and easily picked her up, one arm under her legs, the other under her shoulders, her head leaning on his shoulder.

Shea walked through the open door and gently kicked it closed, trying not to disturbed Chelsea too much. He quickly walked into the forest next to her house, keeping his head turned behind him, to be sure they weren't followed. He half ran back to his hut, ferns and leaves occasionally hitting Chelsea's face. Each time, she groaned and stirred, but managed not to regain consciousness.

Wada watched Shea burst into the hut and lay Chelsea on his bed, a look of utter shock on his face. "What.. You do?!"

Shea brushed Chelsea's hair out of her face, then sat on the edge of the bed and looked to Wada. "She.. Not safe in town. Bring to hut to make her safe. Please, Wada, don't bring back. Okay?"

Wada glared at Shea, unsure of how to properly respond. "Others will come. You know?"

"I know. But I must protect her. They hurt. I not hurt."

Wada shook his head, and they both gazed at Chelsea. Wada thought of possibly being forced to leave again. She only thought of Chelsea, and how innocent she looked when unconscious. He touched the bump on her skull, then jumped back when she stirred.

Chelsea opened her eyes and looked around, taking in her surroundings. Her eyes fell on her captors, and she blinked slowly. "Huh?"

Shea grinned and bounced slightly on his toes. "My name Shea! This is Wada." He pointed over to Wada, who was sitting on his own bed. He nodded, still looking concerned.

Chelsea frowned and furrowed her brow. "Uh, my name is Chelsea.. Where am I?'

"Shell.. Sea? Shellsea, you in my and Wada's hut. I bring you here."

Chelsea stared blankly at Shea, taking in what he had just said. "Huh?"


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Hey, guys. I'm terribly sorry for the, what, two month hiatus? I had vacations. Lots of them. And then school started.. Well, you know the story. But, I've gotten back into the rhythm. ^.^

I know this chapter is ridiculously short and filler-y, but I was uninspired, and wanted to get something out to you guys. For those of you that review (LOVE YOU), I would greatly appreciate any ideas you may have, no matter how weird. Even ninjas.

Anyways, on with the show!

Chapter 5

Still slightly stunned, Chelsea blinked slowly at her captor. "So.. You kidnapped me?"

Shea giggled, and patted her head. "No, I did not sleep! You are funny, Shellsea."

Chelsea shook her head and ran out of the hut, only to be met with rain pelting down. "Fantastic.. Rain.."

Shea followed her out of the hut, grinning foolishly. "Water come from sky.. Rain? Many animals will be out tomorrow. I show you, just wait."

Chelsea shook her head and pushed Shea away. "Why are you being so casual about this? You kidnapped me!" She crossed her arms and turned to face him. "Hey, were you the one that gave me all those flowers?"

Shea nodded cheerily and picked her up in a bear hug. "Yes! You get them! You like the flowers?"

Chelsea slouched backwards in his grip, deciding to make this as hard as possible for him. "Well, yes.. They were.. Pretty, if not a bit weird. Can we go back in now?" Unfortunately for her, that wasn't really going to happen, because she quickly notice that they were falling backwards, or in Shea's case, forward. Shea tried to regain their balance, but they both fell to the ground, landing in the mud.

Chelsea groaned and tried to squirm out from under him, rather unsuccessfully. "Guess I didn't think that one through.."

Shea quickly rolled off of her, and began to roll in the mud, proceeding to drench her as well. Chelsea stood up and stomped back into the hut, making sure to shake off the mud all over the floor. "There. Much better." She was still streaked with mud, but no longer dripping. There was a ring of splatters all around her.

Wada glared at Shea as he walked in, also drenched in mud. "You.... Clean. Now."

Chelsea watched as Shea sulkily trudged back outside into the rain, getting an odd vision of a puppy with it's tail behind it's legs.

Wada turned toward her, and took a deep breath. "Girl, I am.. Sorry. Shea.. Stupid. But you. Not go back. Too far. Sorry."

Chelsea sighed and stomped over to Shea's bed, deciding that if she was stuck in the hut, it would be her bed from then on.

We'll just see about that.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **I haven't written in so long. I have no good excuse. It's just plain shameful. Luckily, I'm going to try to get several chapters typed up before I put this one up, so I'll be safe for a while. I really don't know where my inspiration went, it's just been gone for what seems like ever. Even this chapter isn't particularly good, but I needed something, you know? :(

Chapter 6

Chelsea opened her eyes, half-expecting to find herself back in her room, with her comfy bed, and cold stone walls. Instead, she was met with the vision of several layers of furs, and walls that appeared to consist of wood covered in mud. She groaned, and buried her face into the furs, resisting the urge to sneeze.

Directly underneath her, Chelsea could distinctly hear fidgeting and snuffling. Completely startled, she rolled off of the bed, landing in a disorderly heap. She peered carefully under the bed, expecting a wild animal to jump out at her and maim her. _Would serve those jerks right.._

The source of the noise was, of course, Shea. He was curled up into a ball, and seemed to be trying to claw at something. The effect would have been adorable, if.. She wasn't so angry at him.

Chelsea broke her gaze from the twitchy man, and looked to the small window. It was still dark.

In a split second decision, she untangled herself from the 'blankets', and stormed out of the hut, leaving the door wide open. It was dark, wet, and she was surrounded by trees and all sorts of roots trying to trip her. Well, they succeeded. A lot.

She stumbled around for what seemed like an eternity, desperately searching for somewhere she could stay. All the trees had grown so tall she couldn't reached any of the lowest branches, and that's all there was. Trees, trees, and more trees. That's not to forget the disproportionately large rocks, those were extra fun to run into.

Her eyes adjusted to the dark, and she began to search a bit more efficiently, coming across a cluster of especially large rocks, grouped together to make a sort of cave with a very narrow opening. Chelsea sighed loudly with relief, then clamped her mouth shut, worried that the animals she knew were watching her had heard. She ran into the cave and pushed herself through the opening, tearing her clothes as she did so.

It was colder, and wetter, than it was outside, but at least it was inside. There was no light other than from the opening, so she decided to stare at that. As she stared, it start to rain. _How cliché.. And I didn't even ask how it could get any worse.. Maybe I thought it?_

"I wanna go home.."

The rain started off slow, but after just a few minutes, it began to pour down. The water ran down the rocks and into the cave, pooling at Chelsea's feet. She backed up slowly, as far as she could, before she felt the cold rocks pressing against her back. The water poured in like a waterfall, making the only possible exit too slippery to hold onto. She couldn't get out anymore.

* * *

Shea's eyes shot open as soon as the first rays of sunlight came in through the window. He was so excited, and he'd been dreaming all night about the fun he was going to have with Chelsea.

He uncurled himself, and surveyed the room, puzzled when he saw only the wad of furs on the ground. He smiled, and murmured, "Shellsea.." He crawled softly over to the pile, waited a few seconds, and then pounced on it, expecting that she was underneath all the furs. There were no groans of displeasure, no squealing, no movement at all. It didn't even feeling like anything was under him.

Shea began tearing at the pile, ripping each furs off, trying to find Chelsea. Scattered around him were all the furs, but no Chelsea, just the hard, bare floor. He got suddenly very angry, and very sad, two things he'd never been at the same time before.

He yelled to Wad, "Wada! Shellsea is gone!" Wada wasn't even listening, it was far too early to think, and just groaned and rolled over.

Deciding that Wada wasn't going to help him, Shea ran on all fours out the still-open door, leaving a trail of muddy footprints behind him.

The rain had washed away any of Chelsea's smell, but there was a clear path of broken branches and sticks that she had tripped over. Shea followed them, getting more and more worried as the path went deeper and deeper into the forest, with no other sign of the missing girl.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **Thank you, loverly reviewers. I nearly forgot how nice nice comments feel. This also means I have to keep writing to get nice comments. Incentive? Oh yeah.

Sorry for the rambling-ness of this chapter, and the little dialog, and the distinct uneventful-ness, trying to get the ideas in my head onto paper (sort of paper..) doesn't always turn out right. It'll get better next chapter, I promise.

Chapter 7

The path Shea was following was getting less and less easy to see. This was around the area that Chelsea's eyes grew used to the dark. Don't get me wrong, she was still ungraceful as anything, but instead of an elephant, it was more like a rhino ran through the forest.

Shea had had no idea the poor girl could run this far. He didn't think she was weak, he'd seen how well she cared for her farm all by herself, but the forest was completely different than anything she'd ever been through. He was impressed, and nearly forgot how frustrated he was that she left him.

Distracted by his thoughts, Shea nearly missed the scraps of bright red fabric, which stood out so nicely against the dark rocks they were caught on. The opening Chelsea had climbed into was nearly gone, the sheer force of the water having filled it with yet more rocks. Shea ran over to what was the cave, and began pulling at the scraps of fabric. The opening in the rocks was at about his eye level, and the light from the rising sun shone into it. He could see more red inside the cave, but it wasn't moving.

"Shellsea?" he murmured, a bit confused. As he processed this new information, he came to the conclusion that his 'Shellsea' was seriously injured, trapped, and in desperate need of help. He began to furiously pull away all of the rocks, but the more he pulled, the more were knocked loose and filled the spaces he created. Some of the rocks fell into the cave and he could hear them splash into the small pool that had formed overnight.

After a few minutes, Shea finally figured out that he wasn't helping the situation by freaking out. "Need to calm down. Think better when calmed down." He paused and took a deep breath, staring at the rocks. A few of them he decided wouldn't make the situation worse by being removed, so he did just that. This process repeated until the opening was just wide enough to crawl through.

Shea climbed into the cave, receiving a few scratches on his bare stomach along the way. He slipped and fell into the water, the cold shocking him so he couldn't breathe. His arm wandered until he grabbed a hold of something soft, Chelsea's waist. His cat-like eyes adjusted to the dark and studied her face. It was bluish and very unhealthy-looking, but her breath was rising up from her mouth in short, shallow puffs. Shea sighed with relief, and pulled her close, trying to warm her back up with his own body heat. He could feel her shivering against him, and began to shiver himself.

Shea's body temperature was dropping as quickly as Chelsea's was rising. He knew that if the didn't get out of there soon, they would both be in the same position Chelsea had been in just a few minutes before, only with no rescue on the way. They couldn't get out the way they came in, there wasn't nearly enough room to get out without seriously injuring someone. Doing his best to keep the girl out of the water he held her up and used what strength he had left in his legs to raise himself up, too. Carrying her bridal style, her head resting on his chest, he stumbled further into the cave.

It was much deeper than he'd thought it was from the outside. There must've been more hidden behind what rocks he could see. The ground was once again dry, and the temperature a little more bearable. They were out of immediate danger, and Shea allowed his mind to drift while he wandered.

Holding Chelsea close to him felt better than he thought it would. Even nearly as cold as ice, he liked the soft feel of her skin. He was a bit startled when she moved slightly, thinking she was awake, but she only buried her head deeper into her chest. That felt nice, too.

Shea's mind snapped back to the reality of their situation, and knew that he had to rest soon. They came to a larger opening in the rocks, making a roundish room. There were two tunnels at the far edge but he ignored them. He lay Chelsea down in the center of the room, watching as she curled herself into the fetal position. He walked around and lay down in front of her, squirming closer until she was curled up against his chest. Shea tentatively put her arm around her, and closed his eyes, happy that they were safe, for the time being.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **Okay, this one is totally not worth the wait. I'm sorry. To be quite honest, I was gonna give up on this story. I started writing another one I haven't put up yet, and all my inspiration flowed into that one. But some people kept reviewing while I was on a hiatus of sorts, and I decided to try to continue. I'll try to spice it up next chapter, promise.

Chapter 8

Chelsea woke up, and was completely bewildered. She had no idea where she was, this was certainly not where she last remembered.. She'd passed out, she supposed.

Part of her was very warm, but part of her was very cold, she reached her hand around to her back, and was surprised to find not her shirt, but a bare back. And not her own, she was sure of it. Quite frightened, she squirmed as far way as her tired muscles would let her, then turned to see what, or whom, she had touched.

_Of course.. _Her face softened just a little bit as she saw that it was Shea, and that he was sleepily waving his arm around, trying to find Chelsea. She started to reach her arm out to him, but immediately retracted it when his eyes opened.

The wild boy grinned when his eyes made contact with her own deep blue ones. "Shellsea.. You're okay," he mumbled groggily.

"Yeah, Shea, I'm fine. What are you doing here anyway?"

"I was sleeping. You are silly, Shellsea."

"I know you were sleeping, numbskull.."

Shea reached out and grabbed Chelsea's arm, dragging her closer to him. "See?" He moved her hand up to his hair and used her hand to pull on it just a bit. He flinched at the pain and said, "My head is not numb."

Chelsea sighed and took her hand back. "That's not what I meant. But I won't argue with you. No, your head isn't numb."

Shea smiled and stood up, looking around. The cave was quite dark, and he couldn't see down either of the tunnels that were on the other end. "Shellsea?" He looked down at the girl, who had curled up into the fetal position and half-closed her eyes. "Which way you want to go?"

Chelsea twisted her head as far as she could without moving her body, and squinted at the two tunnels. "I'm not sure. Right now I just want to know if I can stand up."

Shea reached out his hand and Chelsea grabbed it, using him as an anchor while she pulled herself up. Once up, she wobbled, and fell into Shea's arms. She then pushed herself away and wobbled some more, managing to find her balance after a few moments. She was blushing, embarrassed that she had actually sort of liked those few seconds falling against Shea. Luckily for her, it was dark enough that Shea could barely see her, much less the color of her face.

She turned to the tunnels, and stared at them for a long time. Maybe it was her eyes playing tricks on her because she stood up sooner than she should have, but she swore to herself that the one on the right had just a speck of light at the end of it. Not saying a word to her companion, she stumbled a bit drunkenly towards her tunnel of choice.

Shea watched her go for a few moments, smiling and shaking his head. Then, he followed her into the dark, hoping that she had chosen the right tunnel.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **I don't really know how to start this, other than I'm sorries. I haven't updated this in over a year. It's not *completely* my fault, I promise. You see, around this time last year, I got into a new MMORPG, whose name I won't mention, and a few weeks into it, I was violently hacked. Nearly everything on my hard drive was lost, and my laptop wasn't even close to fixable. I'd had a whole bunch of updates typed up, as well as a few chapters for a brand new story I was in absolutely in love with. I was angry, and didn't feel like writing anymore. But I'm over it, and plan on taking plenty of time out of my busy WoW and drawing schedule to write ^.^ This first chapter might be a little rocky, since it's been so long, but I hope you enjoy. Luffles :3

Chapter 8

Chelsea woke up to the feeling of an incredible weight on her stomach. It was much too dark to see anything around her, especially not whatever was pinning her down. All she knew was that she was laying on cool stone, and whatever was holding her stank like nothing she had ever smelling before.

The last thing she remembered, she was trapped between water, rocks, and more rocks. The back of her head hurt, so she deduced that she must've hit it, and that's why she couldn't remember where she was or who she was with.

She squirmed away from the body next to her as far as it would allow her to, and used the dim light to study the figure. _Shea.. He rescued me?_

As her eyes adjusted to the lighting she could see more details. His body, as much as she could see of it from such a close proximity, was filthy, covered in mud, rocks just slightly bigger than sand grains, and the odd leaf here and there. His shoulder had a decent-sized gash in it, about 3 inches long, but not dangerously deep. Despite the pain he was probably feeling, his sleeping face was serene. Maybe it was because he'd been through similar situations before. If Chelsea wanted to flatter herself, she might think it was because of her.

Suddenly, Shea tightened his grip on her waist, pulling her even closer than she was before. So close, in fact, that her face was pressed firmly against his chest, cutting off all oxygen flow into her body. It took her a few seconds to realize that that was going to be a problem. After her realization, she immediately began to struggle as roughly as she had the energy to, and even let out a muffled scream.

Being startled abruptly roused from his sleep, Shea rolled away from her and jumped up into a catlike, ready-to-pounce position. His mouth was a snarl, and his sharp eyes darted around the room, looking for the danger he was expecting. Chelsea was so frightened to begin with, her eyes teared up and she buried her face in her hands.

Shea, realizing his mistake, quickly shook himself and scooped her up into a hug. "Shhhh, Shellsea, no scared. No scared. Shea sorry. No scared."

Chelsea pulled her hands away from her face, and squeaked, "Shea.. What's going on? Where are we? What happened to your arm?"

Shea stared at her confused for a moment. "My.. Arm?" He looked to his should and saw the gash, which was actually a little dirty, probably not the safest thing. "Oh.. Don't know, Shellsea. But Shea is fine. No worry. We in cave, Shea saved you from big waters." Shea grinned a big, silly grin, proud of himself for doing a good job.

Chelsea tried to mumble something about not needing rescuing, but she couldn't deny that he saved her life, and she should be grateful. She murmured, "Th-thank you.. What will we do now?"

"Uhhhermm.. Shea bring Shellsea back to Wada?"

"I dunno, Shea.. After everything I've been through.. I kinda want to go home. I'm sure my animals miss me, and my crops need watering. It wouldn't surprise me if Elliot and my other friends noticed I'm gone, they'll be worried.."

"Oh.. The pale one? Shellsea wants to be with the pale one, this.. Ell-ee-ott.." Shea stared down at his feet, disappointed and more than a little sad.

"It's not just him, Shea. Everyone will notice I'm gone. I need to get back, let them know I'm still alive."

"Okay, Shellsea.. Shea will take home."

With that, Shea stood up and picked Chelsea up, carrying her bridal style towards the entrance of the cave. He avoided eye contact with her, instead focusing his gaze on the ground below him. Chelsea wrapped her arms around his neck, blushing slightly. She knew she should've been happy to be going back to her home, but she had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that what she was doing was a mistake.


End file.
